goHfG welcomes Bernd Häußler for a second time
Protection of creativity
At the HfG, more than 500 socially relevant and market-oriented semester and final projects are developed each semester. Basic knowledge of how to protect one’s own creative achievements is required, among other things, when students work together with entrepreneurs.
Therefore, the start-up offensive at the University of Applied Sciences, goHfG, invited students to an online lecture by Bernd Häußler on May 19 on the topic of „Protective rights applications | research“. Häußler had already given an introductory lecture on IP applications last December. In the continuation and deepening he went into the basics of patent search, the structure of patent publications and patent claims, international patent classification, search terms, operators and strategy, as well as free databases. He also gave specific search tips and a search demonstration.
Research as the basis for success
„What are the others doing in the market?“ This is the question that Bernd Häußler asks at the beginning of his research into intellectual property rights. However, since more than half of the applications now come from Asia, especially China, early and qualified searches are becoming increasingly difficult due to the language barrier. In addition, the classification of publications is becoming increasingly complex – which is why Häußler advises a balance between the effort (time and energy) and the quality requirement with regard to the search results.
„There are more than 120 million publications worldwide,“ says Häußler and advises to deal with the topic of protecting one’s own intellectual property at an early stage – also to gain certainty about the extent to which risks could arise due to the property rights of others. The specialist from the Baden-Württemberg Patent and Trademark Center also provided information on free databases that can be used for research.
Protection of intellectual property as an important competence for designers
The goHfG team considers the technical lecture a real success – especially for the students. „Many student projects hold great innovative potential and are insufficiently protected due to a lack of knowledge. However, the protection of one’s intellectual property is an increasingly important professional competence for designers. That is why we are pleased about Mr. Häußler’s willingness to support our students in this regard,“ says project manager Prof. Gerhard Reichert, explaining the goal of the start-up offensive.
Bernd Häußler is head of the search center at the Baden-Württemberg Patent and Trademark Center in Stuttgart and has been dealing with intellectual property rights since 1997. His clients are small to medium-sized companies, startups, students, and (of course) inventors. Start-ups, in particular, should inform themselves about protection options at an early stage, because even a presentation, pitch or prototype construction, etc., can pose a risk to one’s own invention without the right precautions.